Beginnings of a JourneySharpton, founder of the Harlem-based National Action Network, started
to think about the possibility of running for president in the wake of
the November 2000 presidential election; he was troubled by voter disenfranchisement.
The first public mention of the idea appeared in Time magazine in
May 2001, several weeks after he returned from a six-day fact-finding trip
to Sudan. Rev. Sharpton was arrested in Vieques, Puerto Rico on May
1, 2001 for trespassing while protesting the Navy bombing exercises that
are conducted there. He received a 90-day sentence. During
his incarceration at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, Rev.
Sharpton engaged in a hunger strike under the guidance of Dick Gregory.
He received a steady stream of visitors.

Sharpton announced in an August 20, 2001 press
conference that he would establish by November 2001 a presidential
exploratory committee headed by then Harvard professor Cornel West.
Sharpton continued in exploratory mode throughout 2002.

Meanwhile Sharpton continued to confront various injustices through
the National Action Network (NAN). For example, NAN's Madison Avenue
Initiative sought to challenge racial bias in advertising. NAN chapters
were active in a number of states. NAN set a goal of registering
one million women by 2004. Sharpton himself appeared in the news
from time to time. He appeared in a cameo role in the poorly reviewed
Adam Sandler movie "Mr. Deeds," which came out in late June 2002. On July
24, 2002, Sharpton filed a lawsuit against HBO charging the network was
engaging in a "smear campaign" for airing an edited version of a 1983 FBI
surveillance tape on "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel." On August
25, 2002, Sharpton, making his first appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press,"
engaged in 28 minutes of discussion with Tim Russert.

Sharpton's manifesto "Al on America" (Kensington
Books), co-written with journalist Karen Hunter, came out
in October 2002. He stated, "It's a policy book to talk about my
vision of America to fight against the pro-big business, anti-labor, pro-death
penalty matrix I think has crippled America, and to talk about where I
think we ought to be going in the 21st century." The publisher's
publicity stated that the book was "sure to ignite a firestorm of debate."

Sharpton finally filed papers establishing a presidential exploratory
committee with the FEC on January 21, 2003. He appeared in major
candidate forums during the first quarter of 2003, often drawing enthusiastic
responses from audiences, but his "campaign," such as it was, remained
extremely disorganized. For example, he initially declined to fill
a first quarter financial report with the FEC, but finally did submit a
report on April 29. On April 15, 2003 Frank E. Watkins, a long-time
aide to Rev. Jesse Jackson, took the reins as campaign manager, bringing
much needed organizational skills to Sharpton's effort. Watkins also
added a new element to Sharpton's message, a call for amendments to the
Constitution to include the right to vote, to quality public education,
to quality health care, and to equal rights for women.

Strengths and Weaknesses+ Sharpton could attract
people who have not participated in the process in past elections, and
he could raise issues that would otherwise not be discussed.

- Media and voters could
pigeonhole Sharpton as a black candidate and his campaign as a racial campaign.- Sharpton is so controversial
that the mere mention of his candidacy causes many mainstream Democrats
to simply chuckle or roll their eyes.- In the words of a cab
driver, "He don't have nothing to say, he just want the publicity."- In terms of experience,
leading marches and protest actions may not form a sound basis for managing
a government.

Readings and ResourcesJosh Getlin. "Al Sharpton:
The outspoken activist, given little chance of winning, softens his rhetoric
as he redefines his image in his run for the presidency." Los
Angeles Times. July 6, 2003. [Seventh of weekly series].